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ayaghmour2 · 11-11-2020, 02:09 PM

SS Billy Hunter (18th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 14th Overall (1932)
Alma Mater: Cincinnati HS Tigers

Year one is in the books and the 18-year-old held his own while overmatched at two levels. At La Crosse he hit .289/.329/.425 (97 OPS+) with 8 homers, 4 steals, and 32 RBI's in 346 trips to the plate. Then in 31 games up in San Jose he hit .276/.288/.429 (85 OPS+) with a homer, steal, and 13 RBI's. Depending on how the draft goes, Hunter may get another go at La Crosse before making the eventual desent up. The former 14th overall pick sort of reminds me of Russ Combs. He's got a strong hit tool with decent power and solid speed. He should be a good defender, but at times he struggles just like Combs did. I did let him play a decent amount of his games at second and even a few innings at third. I'm working on his versatility in an effort to make the youngsters more valuable once they are ready to come up as they are able to fill more positions. Shortstop really is our weakness because I have to choose between a bat and glove, so Hunter is extremely valuable for us. I'm hoping Combs has a lot of good years left in him, but he gets hurt so much and you never know when it's the last straw. Hunter has a lot of time to develop, but I'm willing to wait it out.

C Joe Rainbow (33rd Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 18th Round, 289th Overall (1931)
Alma Mater: Somerville HS Generals

It was a much better season for Rainbow and it 424 trips to the plate he hit .296/.349/.455 (110 OPS+) with 12 homers and 57 RBI's. Last season, in one less PA he hit just .179/.276/.337 (63 OPS+) with 15 homres and 47 RBI's. The former 18th Round pick has been a highly ranked prospect, and he's finally started to show it. With Harry Mead not too far behind him, he did have to share time this year. He'll be up in San Jose next season and will likely get a majority of the starts. Rainbow has an excellent eye as demonstrated with his solid OBP, and he did a tremendous job cutting down strikeouts. He went from 137 to 34 in just one season as he put the ball in play much more this season. He's got decent power potential as well. With Mike Taylor as our current catcher, Rainbow does not have a direct path to the majors. He is a right hitter, however, so they could form a dangerous platoon. Both also have experience at first, so they could take the load off each other. Rainbow looks like a solid defender behind the plate so far, but it's too hard to judge his first base play. I really wanted to sell high on him, but I'm glad I held onto him as I'm liking what he's turning in to.

1B Leo Mitchell (46th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 2nd Round, 28th Overall (1931)
Alma Mater: Atlanta HS Peaches

A former teammate of former #1 overall pick Harry Barrell and fellow 1931 Cougar draft pick Ed Reyes, Leo Mitchell had an interesting season in Lincoln. He hit a strong .346/.383/.451 (125 OPS+) with 75 RBI's, but his homers dropped from 13 to 1. There isn't much power in the Heartland League, as Ramon Paschal and Lou Roach led the team with 6 homers, but it's still a steep drop. Regardless, it was an excellent season for the 20-year-old 2nd Rounder who saw a nice jump in the rankings. He's an excellent defender at first, so I wonder if he could potentially man another infield position. For now, he's a first basemen, but if there is a roster crunch, he may see time at a new position.

LF Rich Langton (49th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 3rd Round, 46th Overall (1932)
Alma Mater: Detroit City College Knights

It was a tail of two seasons for Langton who really dominated Class B and sort of struggled in A ball. With San Jose he racked up a 33 game hit streak and hit .363/.424/.544 (152 OPS+) with 6 homers and 40 RBI's in 257 trips to the plate. In 18 more with Lincoln, however, he hit just .241/.36/.382 (88 OPS+) with 3 homers and 35 RBI's. He did have a really slow start in Lincoln and went down, but did much better the second stint. He also looked very mature at the plate, walking more then he struck out in both Lincoln and San Jose with 26 and 13 and 26 and 12 respectively. The righty is an excellent hitter with decent speed and a knack for getting on base. He's a passable defender and I've really liked how year one went down. We have a ton of outfield prospects, so while Langton is the best now, a lot can change. He seems likely to develop fast, and should be back in Lincoln next season. He's got every chance to move up to Mobile and maybe even advance to Milwaukee.

SP Cy Sullivan (65th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 60th Overall (1932)
Alma Mater: Austin HS Senators

Like most of my young pitchers down in C ball, Sullivan had some struggles this year. In 24 starts he was just 3-14 with a 5.52 ERA (75 ERA+), 1.80 WHIP, 64 walks, and 24 strikeouts across 163 innings. In the offseason, Sullivan has worked on his fastball and increase his velocity up to 85-87. A 6'6'', I expect many more bumps for the 19-year-old who is the definition of a project pitcher. This guys has absolute nasty stuff and he just has to work on mastering it. Whether it is really tightening up his control or working on a strike out pitch, he needs to take the next step. He'll get another shot at La Crosse and I expect him to do much better. I'm really excited for this kid, and I think he's going to be a huge part of our future rotation. And with the talent we have now, he has time to grow.

11-11-2020, 02:09 PM	#261
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Top Prospects: 1-5 SS Billy Hunter (18th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 14th Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Cincinnati HS Tigers Year one is in the books and the 18-year-old held his own while overmatched at two levels. At La Crosse he hit .289/.329/.425 (97 OPS+) with 8 homers, 4 steals, and 32 RBI's in 346 trips to the plate. Then in 31 games up in San Jose he hit .276/.288/.429 (85 OPS+) with a homer, steal, and 13 RBI's. Depending on how the draft goes, Hunter may get another go at La Crosse before making the eventual desent up. The former 14th overall pick sort of reminds me of Russ Combs. He's got a strong hit tool with decent power and solid speed. He should be a good defender, but at times he struggles just like Combs did. I did let him play a decent amount of his games at second and even a few innings at third. I'm working on his versatility in an effort to make the youngsters more valuable once they are ready to come up as they are able to fill more positions. Shortstop really is our weakness because I have to choose between a bat and glove, so Hunter is extremely valuable for us. I'm hoping Combs has a lot of good years left in him, but he gets hurt so much and you never know when it's the last straw. Hunter has a lot of time to develop, but I'm willing to wait it out. C Joe Rainbow (33rd Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 18th Round, 289th Overall (1931) Alma Mater: Somerville HS Generals It was a much better season for Rainbow and it 424 trips to the plate he hit .296/.349/.455 (110 OPS+) with 12 homers and 57 RBI's. Last season, in one less PA he hit just .179/.276/.337 (63 OPS+) with 15 homres and 47 RBI's. The former 18th Round pick has been a highly ranked prospect, and he's finally started to show it. With Harry Mead not too far behind him, he did have to share time this year. He'll be up in San Jose next season and will likely get a majority of the starts. Rainbow has an excellent eye as demonstrated with his solid OBP, and he did a tremendous job cutting down strikeouts. He went from 137 to 34 in just one season as he put the ball in play much more this season. He's got decent power potential as well. With Mike Taylor as our current catcher, Rainbow does not have a direct path to the majors. He is a right hitter, however, so they could form a dangerous platoon. Both also have experience at first, so they could take the load off each other. Rainbow looks like a solid defender behind the plate so far, but it's too hard to judge his first base play. I really wanted to sell high on him, but I'm glad I held onto him as I'm liking what he's turning in to. 1B Leo Mitchell (46th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 2nd Round, 28th Overall (1931) Alma Mater: Atlanta HS Peaches A former teammate of former #1 overall pick Harry Barrell and fellow 1931 Cougar draft pick Ed Reyes, Leo Mitchell had an interesting season in Lincoln. He hit a strong .346/.383/.451 (125 OPS+) with 75 RBI's, but his homers dropped from 13 to 1. There isn't much power in the Heartland League, as Ramon Paschal and Lou Roach led the team with 6 homers, but it's still a steep drop. Regardless, it was an excellent season for the 20-year-old 2nd Rounder who saw a nice jump in the rankings. He's an excellent defender at first, so I wonder if he could potentially man another infield position. For now, he's a first basemen, but if there is a roster crunch, he may see time at a new position. LF Rich Langton (49th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 3rd Round, 46th Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Detroit City College Knights It was a tail of two seasons for Langton who really dominated Class B and sort of struggled in A ball. With San Jose he racked up a 33 game hit streak and hit .363/.424/.544 (152 OPS+) with 6 homers and 40 RBI's in 257 trips to the plate. In 18 more with Lincoln, however, he hit just .241/.36/.382 (88 OPS+) with 3 homers and 35 RBI's. He did have a really slow start in Lincoln and went down, but did much better the second stint. He also looked very mature at the plate, walking more then he struck out in both Lincoln and San Jose with 26 and 13 and 26 and 12 respectively. The righty is an excellent hitter with decent speed and a knack for getting on base. He's a passable defender and I've really liked how year one went down. We have a ton of outfield prospects, so while Langton is the best now, a lot can change. He seems likely to develop fast, and should be back in Lincoln next season. He's got every chance to move up to Mobile and maybe even advance to Milwaukee. SP Cy Sullivan (65th Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 60th Overall (1932) Alma Mater: Austin HS Senators Like most of my young pitchers down in C ball, Sullivan had some struggles this year. In 24 starts he was just 3-14 with a 5.52 ERA (75 ERA+), 1.80 WHIP, 64 walks, and 24 strikeouts across 163 innings. In the offseason, Sullivan has worked on his fastball and increase his velocity up to 85-87. A 6'6'', I expect many more bumps for the 19-year-old who is the definition of a project pitcher. This guys has absolute nasty stuff and he just has to work on mastering it. Whether it is really tightening up his control or working on a strike out pitch, he needs to take the next step. He'll get another shot at La Crosse and I expect him to do much better. I'm really excited for this kid, and I think he's going to be a huge part of our future rotation. And with the talent we have now, he has time to grow.